Ten Common Activities That Require Safety Glasses

The world is full of risks to your eyes. Most people go through life without considering the number of flying particles, substances, and random projectiles that could put their eyes in danger. Unless, of course, you work in a profession that requires eye protection to avoid very real on the job injuries. Once you realize that anything from sawdust to bright lights could potentially cause blinding damage, you start to look at the world differently. Rather than the usual thought “Do I really need safety glasses for this?” you start to think “I probably need safety glasses for everything” and you wouldn’t be wrong! There are all sorts of activities that you should wear eye protection for that most people forego.

Sometimes they skip it because they don’t have any safety glasses, and a lot of the time people have safety glasses available but don’t want to slip them on over their normal glasses. That’s where prescription safety glasses come in. With a set of readily available eye protection that allows you to see clearly without eyewear layering, you’ll be able to protect your eyes whether at home or work anytime you take part in a slightly risky activity like one of these ten common activities that should be done with safety glasses.

1) Construction and Home Improvement

Anytime you are working with construction materials, eye protection is an absolute must. Even if you’re just nailing together Ikea furniture, it’s a good idea to slip on a pair of protective goggles or glasses just in case a stray nail, chip of wood, or end of the hammer happens to approach your eyes. It is far better to hear a stray click against the safety glasses than damage one or both of your precious eyeballs. This is doubly important if you are actually cutting or mounting materials. Sawdust or other construction debris in the air can definitely pose a danger to your eyes and anything suspended even temporarily that could fall onto your face is a good reason to wear both a protective helmet and safety glasses at the same time.

2) Welding

Welding is incredibly dangerous for the eyes for more than the usual reasons. When you create a very high point of heat, that heat creates an incredibly bright light that should not under any circumstances be viewed with the naked eye. You need specially tinted lenses as is often provided with safety glasses or welding helmets to prevent burned out spots in your retinas. Beyond this, welding often sends incredibly hot particles flying through the air that should be protected from. For this reason, welders tend to wear gloves, heavy clothes from top to bottom, and serious eye protection.

3) Grinding and Sanding

Grinding and sanding are similar in principle but the materials and effects are significantly different. However, both activities send dangerous, sharp, and potentially quite hot particles into thair as a result of intense friction. With grinding, you are shaping metal by putting it in contact with spinning blades which can create a shower of sparks so eye protection is easily understood. With sanding, you are shaping wood or other soft materials through friction with something rough like a power sander. The sawdust, while softer and not as hot as the sparks, are gritty and can cause irritation even if you’re sanding by hand.

4) Playing Projectile Sports

Sports is one of the primary activity types that should be associated with eye protection but generally isn’t. Most people don’t don a pair of safety glasses before hitting the tennis field or playing a few friendly rounds of baseball. However, anytime you are dealing with an environment of projectiles, there is a potential for eye injury. For cautious athletes and protective parents, you may consider a pair of comfortable strap-secured prescription safety glasses to wear when it’s time for sports. Not only does it keep your eyes safe during the game, it also gives you a secure, damage-resistant pair of prescription goggles to wear on the field.

5) Sandblasting

Sandblasting is the practice of smoothing or cleaning an object by shooting thousands of little abrasive particles at it. People use this technique to clear old paint off of houses, rust off of old patio furniture, and anything off of old cars before repainting and finishing them. The particles can range from actual sand to soft walnut shells to little pellets of glass, none of which you want to get into your eyes. Standard procedure for sandblasting requires eye protection and if you wear glasses, investing in a pair of prescription safety glasses is a great way to go. Especially if you’ll be sandblasting for some time.

6) Chemistry

Particles and projectiles aren’t the only potential risk to your eyeballs. A small splash of water in the eyes is no big deal, but what about more corrosive substances? Anytime you are dealing with chemistry, even with very small portions in a controlled environment, it’s important that you wear proper eye protection. Splash guarding is slightly different from impact, light, or heat protection but is equally important when dealing with corrosive, caustic, or otherwise dangerous chemical substances. In fact, scientists are more likely to have their own prescription safety glasses, as being able to see well during experiments is very important.

7) Motorcycle Riding

Motorcycle riding is one of the most dangerous activities any person can take casually, and protective gear is at the forefront of preparing to ride as safely as possible. Most motorcyclists wear protection from head to toe with heavy leather boots, pants, and jacket combined with a helmet and safety glasses. Motorcycle styled safety glasses are some of the most commonly sold. Without prescription motorcycle glasses, people who need visual correction have to wear full-face-plate helmets with their glasses underneath.

8) Heavy Duty Cleaning

Remember how chemicals are dangerous for your eyes? While this doesn’t stop being true just because you’re working with scrubby sponges at home. Cleaning solutions are incredibly dangerous for the eyes and even the fumes can be a problem. Be very careful when using chemicals like bleach or ammonia at home and try to remember to wear eye protection when sloshing around these substances. The better a chemical is for cleaning, the less you want it near your eyes. For the same reason you lock these solutions away from small children and pets, keep them safely away from your eyes with protective eyewear.

9) Yard Work

While usually less dangerous than welding or sandblasting, yard work has a surprising number of projectiles involved. When you are trimming bushes, pruning trees, and even just mowing the lawn with a power mower, mother nature has a way of throwing leaves and sticks into the air and often right at your face. Wearing eye protection while landscaping and doing yard work is an incredibly useful way to keep your face safe from stray branches snapping back, falling debris, and unexpectedly springy twigs that fly away when clipped. Chipping wood is another excellent time to wear safety glasses.

10) Marksmanship

Shooting guns is all about sending tiny projectiles at a very fast speed. While ideally the bits of flying metal and plastic only go in one direction, the one you’re aiming at, accidents and mechanical failures happen and it’s very important that you be prepared for these events. The right eye protection at the shooting range or on a hunting trip can ensure that ricochet, hot powder, errant shot, and muzzle flash don’t injure or blind you based on one imperfect shot.

Living an active life full of interesting and useful activities is all about having the right preparation. With a pair of prescription safety glasses, you’ll be ready to take on the world and deflect anything it happens to throw at your face. For more information about prescription safety glasses, contact us today!